Paint brush and roller cleaning appliance



June 4, 1957 M. M. KRUGER PAINT BRUSH AND ROLLER CLEANING APPLIANCEFiled April 21, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MANDELL M. KRUGER ATTORN EY PAINT BRUSH AND ROLLER CLEANING APPLIANCE Filed April 21, 1954 June4, 1957 M. M. KRUGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \dn l ll l H R E we mm MM L l- E DN A .M

ATTOR NEY PAINT BRUSH AND ROLLER CLEANING APPLIANCE Mandell M. Kruger,Detroit, Mich., assignor to Lew Kruger, Detroit, Mich.

Application April 21, 1954, Serial No. 424,587 Claims. (Cl. 34-58) Thisinvention relates to a paint brush and roller cleaning appliance, andmore particularly to an appliance which cleans the brush or roller byrapid rotation 01' swirling of the painting element, thus removing thepaint by centrifugal force.

The appliance comprises a housing within which is a hollow rotatableshaft having a paint brush or roller atttaching means at one end androtating driw'ng means at the other end. The housing contains spacedapart bearings for the rotatable shaft, and in one form, it is capped atboth ends. The driving means comprises a spirally twisted blade having afreely movable driving disc with cam engaging arms arranged to engagewith a notched toothed cam member fixed to the driving end of therotatable shaft. The paint brush or roller attaching means comprises, inone form, a cap having parallel extension projecting arms supportingcoiled springs in sets fixed between the arms, within which the handleof the paint brush is forced and held, or over which the paint roller isforced and held.

The appliance operates by reciprocatingly sliding the driving blade upand down through the hollow rotatable shaft causing the driving disc toengage the cam member on the down stroke and to slip freely over the cammember on the up stroke, so that the paint brush or roller is rotated ina single direction. This operation is performed both when the brush isimmersed in paint solvent and when it is removed from the solvent,causing the dissolved dilute paint to spray forth from the brushbristles by centrifugal force.

Cleaning paint brushes by dipping them in solvent and then swinging themin sweeping staccato strokes is very inefiicient, time consuming andmessy. Some appliances are known which rotate the brush, but only atvery slow speeds, so that the beneficial effect of centrifugal force isnot obtained. These appliances are cumbersome, expensive, and hard tooperate.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a paint brush orroller cleaning appliance that rotates the brush at high speed with easeand facility.

Another object is the provision of reciprocating driving means in theappliance.

A further object is the provision of an attachment in the appliance thatserves to hold either a paint brush or a paint roller without change ormodification of the attachment.

Still another object is the provision of means to rotate the brush orroller, at high speeds, so that centrifugal force will aid in cleaningthe brush or roller of paint. 7 Additional objects of the invention willbecome more apparent from the [description given below. For a visualunderstanding of the invention, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings, made an integral part hereof and in which Fig. 1 is a verticalelevational view of the paint brush and roller cleaning appliance.

Fig. 2 is a slightly enlarged the appliance of Fig. 1.

vertical sectional view of States Patent 0 3 is an enlarged fragmentaryvertical sectional Fig.

means portion of the appliance of view of the driving Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the driving means substantially onthe line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical elevational view, partially in section,of the brush and roller attachment portion supporting a paint roller.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical elevational view, partially in section,of the brush and roller attachment portion supporting a paint brush.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical e'levtational view, partially insection, of a modified form of the brush and roller attachment portion.

Figs. 9 and 10 are horizontal sectional views on the lines 9-9 and10-10, respectively, of Fig. 8.

Figs. 11 and 12 are fragmentary vertical elevational views of othermodified forms of the brush and roller attachment portion.

Figs. 13 and 14 are horizontal sectional views on the lines 13-13 ofFig. 11, and 14-14 of Fig. 12, respectively.

Fig. 13A is a view similar to Fig. 13, of a slightly modified form ofthe attachment portion of the appliance.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the brush and roller cleaning appliance 10comprises a knurled housing 12, an upper end cap 14 and a lower end cap16, a driving. rod 18, a swivelling driving disc 19, a driven rotatabletubular shaft 20, and brush and roller attachment 22 fixed to shaft 20.

Within knurled housing 12 and between end caps 14 and 16 are locatedbearings 24 in bearing mounts 26. The bearings 24 are spaced apart andnearby the ends of the housing in order to give proper support to therotatable tubular shaft 20.

Driving rod 18 is formed from flat strip stock with a handle portion 28,having stop flange 30 at its lowermost point, arranged to stop downwardtravel at the upper end cap 14, and spirally twisted blade portion 32terminating with fixedly mounted ferrule 34. Ferrule 34 serves as abearing guide in tubular shaft 20 and for centering the blade 32therein.

Upper end cap 14 is .provided with a blade passageway 36, through whichblade portion 32 passes freely up and down. Lower end cap 16 is providedwith an opening 38, in which shaft 20 rotates freely.

Fixedly mounted on the upper end of rotatable tubular shaft 20 is anotched cam driven member 40, which, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3and 4, is provided with peripheral spaced saw-cut teeth 42. Theswivelling driving disc 19 is arranged with arms 44 that engage theteeth 42 of member 40, causing shaft 20 to rotate in its bearings 24.Driven member 40 is substantially dished or cup shaped in section sothat a greater diameter is obtained for engagement with driving discarms 44, thus reducing the force required to rotate shaft 20 andincreasing the efficiency of the appliance. The shape of cam member 40,as shown inthe drawings, is a preferred form. However, other discshaped, notched and toothed forms may also be employed, as theparticular circumstances require. The swivelling driving disc 19 isprovided with a centrally located substantially rectangular slot 46 justslightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the blade portion 32,so that the spirally twisted driving blade 32 will pass freely throughthe disc 19.

When the driving rod 18 is pushed downward, the arms 44 of disc 19 arecaused to engage the teeth 42 of driven member 40, turning the same.When driving rod 18 is pulled upward, disc arms 44 slip freely over; the

cam driving member saw-cut teeth 42 and out of engagement therewith.

The attachment portion 22, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 6, comprises a capportion 60, a pair of spaced parallel extension arms 62 fixed to andprojecting from cap 60, and sets of helical coiled springs 64 arrangedin parallel and at right angles about a longitudinal central axiscoincident with the axis of rotation of the tubular shaft 20. The cap 60is held in place on shaft 21) by a threaded section 66. A paint brush 68having fiat handle portions 70 and a bristle section 72 is one of thepainting devices which can be cleaned by means of the inventiveappliance here described.

The extension arms 62 are bent or tapered from the cap 60 into closerparallel relation in order to make the tension of the forward sets ofsprings 64 more effective. Also, the arms 62 are so bent and formed asto provide a compressive gripping effect upon the inside diameter of thecylindrical paint roller 96, whereby the roller is held firmly duringrotation. Near to and directly below the cap 60, the tensioning springs64 are arranged in sets of two at right angles to provide a closelygripping force upon the end of the paint brush handle 70. The forwardspring sets also effect a good grip upon the brush handle, which becomesfirmly grasped by and Within the attachment 22.

A modification of the invention is shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. In thisform, the lower end cap 16 is eliminated, and the attachment 80 isthreaded and held on shaft by a nut 82. The attachment cap 84 isdisposed within the lower end of housing 12, and its extension arms 86project beyond the housing in parallel relation. One pair of coiledhelical tensioning springs 88 are fixed to and between the arms 86 nearthe lower end of cap 84, and a second set of such springs 83 are fixedto and between the arms 86 near their outermost ends. As a furthersupport for the brush handle 70, the tip ends 90 of the arms 86 are bentor curled inwardly. When brush handle 70 is forced between the springsof the curled arm ends 90, these ends ride upon the handle to hold itstraight and to prevent twisting within the attachment 80. The brushhandle 7 0 is generally shoved through the attachment up to thelowermost end of tubular shaft 20.

Both attachment portions 22 and 80 will also support the commonly usedcylindrical paint roller 96 which comprises a hollow cylinder 98 ofpaper or other suitable supporting material, and an outer sheath 100 offibrous wool, nylon, hair, or similar suitable paint rolling material.As shown in Fig. 5, the roller 96 is slipped over the extension arms 62until it fits snugly and is held firmly upon them. The same is true forthe attachment 80 shown in Fig. 8.

The spring sets 64 and 88 are so arranged concentrically about thelongitudinal axes of attachments 22 and 81?, respectively, that a brushhandle 70 is automatically centered therewithin to obtain substantiallyvibration-less swirling of the brush 68 in the cleaning operation.

Another modification of the attachment means is shown in Figs. 11 and13, where the attachment 110 is formed of wire into a spirally woundportion 112 that threads upon and is firmly anchored to the lowermostend of rotatable tubular shaft 20. The wire attach ment has a flat gridportion 114 arranged substantially parallel to and spaced apart from acurved portion 116, to provide a tensioning gripping clasp upon thebrush handle 70, which lies between the two attachment portions. Thesubstantially parallel arms 118 of the grip portion 114 are spaced apartfrom each other a distance sufficient to provide a compressive grippingeffect upon the cylindrical paint roller 96, into which they aredesigned to slip and hold.

A further modification of that shown in Figs. comprises a pair of theattachment means is 12 and 14. The attachment 130 wire forms 132, 133having spirally wound elements 134 adapted to be mounted upon thelowermost end of tubular shaft 20. The spiral element 134 of form 132 isarranged above the spiral element 134 of form 133, and in close touchingcontact therewith to provide substantially in-line tubular form over theshaft 20. Form 132 is provided with parallel extension projecting arms136, and form 133 has arms 138 which lie in a plane substantially atright angles to the plane in which arms 136 lie. A web 146 of aflexible, rubber or plastic material is intimately formed on or aboutthe wire arms 136 and 138, providing a hollow, tubular space opening 142within the web section 140, into which the brush handle 70 can beslipped and by which it is held. The outer dimensional limits of the webform 140 are such as to provide a firm tensioning grip upon thecylindrical roller 96, which would be slipped over the web form.

Fig. 13A shows a section of paint brush handle 70 clasped between wiregrip portions 114 and 116 having flat sections substantiallycomplementing the flat sides of the handle, so as to develop more landcontact and grip with the handle than is present in the configurationshown in Fig. 13.

It will be noted from the above description that the principalmodification lies in the attachment means by which the paint cleaningappliance grips and holds the brush or roller. However, slightmodifications of the drive mechanism may also be made, in suchcomponents as the handle of the driving rod 18, the driving disc 19, orthe notched saw-cut toothed driven member 40, without departing from theinventive concept here disclosed.

In operation, the appliance 10 functions as follows for cleaning paintbrushes 68, or rollers 96. The flat handle portion 70 is shoved orslipped between the gripping spring sets 64 (Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7), orspring sets 88 (Figs. 8, 9 and 10), until the tip end of the handle isup against the rotatable tubular shaft 20. The tensioning grippingspring sets firmly hold the brush handle in their grasp. Or, the roller96 is slipped over the attachment arms 62 or 86 so that it is firmly andcompressively held by them.

Appliance housing 12 is then held in one hand by the operator and thehandle 28 of the driving rod 18 is gripped by the other hand. The handle28 and rod 18 are pulled upward, causing the driving disc 19 to swivelabout the twisted blade 32 and the disc arms 44 to slip over the notchedcam member teeth 42, until the ferrule 34 meets the disc 19. Because thecap passageway 36 is smaller than the disc 19, the blade 32 comes to ahalt in its upward travel.

Blade 32 is then plunged downward within tubular shaft 20. Since theblade does not turn, the driving disc 19 is caused to rotate or swivelupon the twisted blade portion 32, and its arms 44 to swirl into engagement with the teeth 42 of the member 40. The latter member, being fixedupon the upper end of tubular shaft 20, causes the shaft to rotate andthe attachment 22 to rotate. The rotation of the brush attachment spinebrush 68 or roller 96 about, so that the bristles 72 or fibers flyoutward under centrifugal force at high speed.

A satisfactory and preferred method of cleaning a paint brush 68 afteruse is to swirl the brush in a container of paint solvent a few times todilute and loosen the paint from the bristles or fibers, and then swirlit out of the solvent and in an empty container, causing the dissolvedpaint to fly oh the bristles or fibers. The high speed swirling actionof the brush in the inventive appliance 10 is very effective in cleaningpaint brushes and paint rollers of the type here described.

In the use of attachment 110, the brush handle 70 is forced between thecompressive gripping wire grid 114 and the curved wire portion 116, thetip end of the handle entering the mouth of the spiral portion 112. Andin attachment 130, the brush handle 70 is shoved into the flexiblegripping web 140, wherein it is firmly grasped. The rotation andswirling of the brush bristles proceed as in the case of the attachment.forms above described. The latter two attachments also provide in theirforms, as shown, the gripping means to hold the tubular cylindricalrollers 96 for rotation in and out of paint solvent.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the novel andinventive appliance here described can also be fitted with an attachmentportion that stirs or mixes paint or other fluid or semi-fluidmaterials. Such a means could be a paddle (not shown), or even the wireattachment form 110, or a modification of such form.

Having described my invention in its simplest terms, it is to beunderstood that the details of construction of the foregoingspecification may be changed or varied in greater or lesser degreewithout departing from the essence of my invention.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising a tubular housing, atubular shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, a saw-cut toothed cammember afiixed to one end of said shaft within said housing, and paintbrush and roller attachment means afliXed to the other end of saidshaft, a driving rod having a handle portion outside said housing and ahelically twisted blade portion extending into said tubular shaft, and adriving disc freely swivelling on said blade portion having projectingarms adapted to engage said saw-cut toothed cam member, said disc armsengageable with said cam member upon downward travel of said bladeportion through said driving disc and out of engagement with said cammember upon upward travel of said blade portion through said drivingdisc, in which said attachment means comprises a cap affixed to saidtubular shaft, parallel extension arms projecting from said capconcentric with said tubular shaft, and coiled helical springsconjoining said arms in pairs defining an opening therebetween paralleland concentric with said arms.

2. In a device of the class described, an attachment apparatusassociated with and mountable on a manual rotary drive means forcleaning paint applicators, including brush-type applicators having ahandle and rollertype cylindrical applicators having a boretherethrough, comprising a fitting mountable upon said drive means,applicator holding means aflixed to and projecting from said fitting,said applicator holding means having a pair of spaced apart parallelfingers conjoined by resilient means urging said fingers toward eachother, said resilient means disposed within the periphery of saidholding means, said fingers being normally spaced apart for insertion ofsaid brush-type applicator handle and having handle holding and grippingmeans at their extremities, said fingers further being normally spacedapart for insertion thereof into said cylindrical applicator bore in aclose fitting grip thereon.

3. In a device of the class described, an attachment apparatus mountableon :a manual rotary drive means for cleaning paint applicators in andwith a paint solvent, including paint brushes having handles and paintrollers having bores therethrough, comprising a fitting mountable uponsaid drive means, paint applicator holding means affixed to said fittingand having a pair of spaced apart parallel projecting fingers, saidfingers being conjoined by resilient coil springs disposed within theperiphery of said holding means and urging said fingers toward eachother, said fingers being normally spaced apart for insertion of saidpaint brush handle and having handle holding and gripping means at theirextremities being urged closely upon said handle by said coil springs,said fingers further being of a size and shape and normally spaced apartfor insertion thereof into said paint roller bore in close fittinggripping and holding relation thereto.

4. In a manually operated paint brush and roller cleaning mechanismdesigned to free said brush and said roller of paint by centrifugalspinning, in combination, means to compressively hold a paint applicatorfor centrifugal spinning on a rotatably driven shaft of said mechanismwhich comprises an attachment cap arranged for mounting on said shaft, apair of substantially straight, substantially parallel, spaced apart,opposed arms fixedly mounted at one end to said cap and dependingtherefrom, a pair of coiled helical springs conjoining said armsadjacent the upper portion thereof and defining an opening therewiththerebetween, and a second pair of coiled helical springs arrangedtransversely of and parallel to said first pair of springs conjoiningsaid arms adjacent the lower portion thereof and defining an openingtherewith therebetween, said arms being arranged in coaxial alignmentwith said driven shaft to provide a compressive grip on said paintapplicator and to hold the same firmly in coaxial alignment with saidshaft during centrifugal spinning.

5. In a manually operated paint brush and roller cleaning appliancedesigned to free said brush and said roller of paint by centrifugalspinning, in combination, means to compressively hold a paint applicatorfor centrifugal spinning on a rotatably driven shaft of said appliancewhich comprises an attachment cap arranged for mounting on said shaft, apair of substantially straight, substantially parallel, spaced apart,opposed arms fixedly mounted at one end to said cap and dependingtherefrom, a pair of resilient elements conjoining said arms adjacentthe upper portion thereof and defining an opening therewiththerebetween, and a second pair of resilient elements conjoining saidarms adjacent the lower portion thereof and defining an openingtherewith therebetween, said arms being arranged in coaxial alignmentwith said driven shaft to provide a compressive grip on said paintapplicator and to hold the same firmly in coaxial alignment with saidshaft during centrifugal spinning.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 181,article entitled Dual Purpose Tool.

